101 Kisses: Arc x Yucie
by Veritas Found
Summary: Puchi Puri or Petite Princess Yucie. Unofficial. Indefinitley postponed. Glimpses into the lives of Arc and Yucie, following the 101 Kisses theme table.
1. One Hundred and One

**Title:** "One-Hundred and One"

**Author:** Wish Wielder

**Fandom:** Puchi Puri Yucie

**Claim / Pairing / Character Focus:** Arc/Yucie

**Challenge:** 101 Kisses

**Theme / Prompt:** #101 (One-Hundred and One Kisses)

**Word Count:** 441

**Rating:** K / G

**Summary:** One-hundred and one kisses placed on cool grass as he collapsed in tears beside her.

**Notes:** Post-series. Written under the influence of DSWD.

**Disclaimer:** "Puchi Puri Yucie" and all respective properties are © Takami Akai. Meg D. (Wish Wielder) does not, has never, nor will ever own "Puchi Puri Yucie".

"_**One-Hundred and One"**_

One-hundred and one days.

One-hundred and one days spent watching her body collapse. One-hundred and one days spent encouraging her through treatments both medical and magical, and one-hundred and one nights spent holding her hand in a chair at her side because it hurt her too much to sleep in his arms but she couldn't sleep without him there. One-hundred and one afternoons spent telling Maggie why mommy couldn't go riding with her. One-hundred and one mornings spent on walks through their garden alone.

One-hundred and one lies told to keep worry at bay. 'No, Gunberd, she's feeling much better today' on the day she spit up blood. 'I'm sure she'd love to attend the ball next week' on the night she took a turn for the worse. 'The doctor says she'll recover any day' on the afternoon the doctor told him there was nothing more he could do. 'She'll be better in no time' on the midnight she told him she knew she'd die.

One-hundred and one prayers to a God he wasn't even sure he knew anymore. One-hundred and one questions asking why this was happening to her, and one-hundred and one curses shouted from the rage of watching her lose. One-hundred and one pleas to take him instead. One-hundred and one denials received as he watched her slip away.

One-hundred and one screams echoing through marble halls the day she wouldn't wake up. One-hundred and one tears cried when the doctor said what he already knew. One-hundred and one excuses made to a five-year-old daughter who couldn't understand. One-hundred and one reasons to hate himself for being too cowardly to attend her funeral.

One-hundred and one breathes used to steady himself every morning he woke up to one-hundred and one memories of her smiling face. One-hundred and one feelings reeling through his chest, keeping him hostage in a room that reminded him of her in one-hundred and one ways. One-hundred and one thoughts of running teasing his mind, and one-hundred and one waves of guilt crashing over him every time Maggie stood outside the door asking him to stay.

One-hundred and one shaky steps to the indoor garden of Sunset Brights she had insisted on planting herself. One-hundred and one whispers of her wrapping around his heart as he neared the garden grave. One-hundred and one reflections of happier times dancing in the waters of the lake placed beside her tomb. One-hundred and one needles jabbing at his heart as he knelt beside the mound.

One-hundred and one kisses placed on cool grass as he collapsed in tears beside her.

One-hundred and one times he told her goodbye.

**A.n.:** _Between 30 Kisses and these, I've killed Yucie twice and had her seriously injured about two or three times. I'm thinking I need to beat up on Arc soon._


	2. Those Eyes

**Title:** "Those Eyes"

**Author:** Wish Wielder

**Fandom:** Puchi Puri Yucie

**Claim / Pairing / Character Focus:** Arc/Yucie

**Challenge:** 101 Kisses

**Theme:** #10 (Eyes)

**Word Count:** 1,254

**Rating:** K / G

**Summary:** The first thing he saw was her eyes.

**Notes:** Post-series.

**Disclaimer:** "Puchi Puri Yucie" and all respective properties are © Takami Akai. Meg D. (Wish Wielder) does not, has never, nor will ever own "Puchi Puri Yucie".

"_**Those Eyes"**_

The first thing he saw was her eyes.

Well, no - not really. You could say the first thing he saw was the side of her face, the lower profile, as she reached across him to adjust his blanket. You could go back to the previous night, and say that the first thing he saw was her forehead as he wavered on the brink of consciousness. You could go even farther back and say the first thing he saw was her night-sky hair and little pink dress as she cowered against a tree, all those years ago when he had chased off that wolf.

But that's not what he remembered best.

What he saw, when he thought back on their first encounter, was her eyes. Two pools of warm chocolate, drawing him in like quicksand. Fear, awe, wonder, curiosity - all melded together in a sea of brown. A shine from the morning sun passed through a window behind. A light rosy hue from the blush on her cheeks. No, but mostly brown. Warm, inviting, hesitantly shy brown.

The eyes of a woman just coming into her own. Tinged with a frustration and longing he couldn't quite understand, but one that was definitely there. Windows into a soul so complex he was still puzzling over it, open to him - even then, when he was just a stranger, a weary traveler helped on a stormy night. She let him in with those eyes, though at the time he wasn't sure just what he had been looking at. Her eyes. Her window. Her gift.

And then her mind had returned, and she had jumped - no, leapt - back as propriety returned and fear became more pronounced. Embarrassment reigned as she back-peddled, ran to the other side of the room. And he had seen her, clothed in robes and habit, and he had been surprised to see she was just a child. But those eyes stayed focused on him, and somehow - despite her appearance - he knew she wasn't. No child could have those eyes.

His voice was almost calloused as he addressed her - to hide his heart. She was bewitching, but how? She huddled against the wall, fists raised in a gesture of uncertainty, but she still watched him. Wide-eyed and wonderful, the light creating as many shades as depths. First brown as the richest chocolate, then amber as honey. Earthy, but not. Sweet and timid. Trusting and terrified.

And all at him.

And all too suddenly he was overwhelmed, and all too suddenly he turned from her, looking this way then that. He covered the spark of something with disinterested criticism, teasing that made those amazing eyes flicker with indignation and rage. "Forehead" - a name she loathed, but one he felt suited her. It drew away from the fascination with her eyes.

More teasing, and the amber became more defined as the anger flared. She stormed out, sticking a soft, pink tongue at him before making her leave, and he had sulked. No, don't let his mind on her. Don't think of those eyes.

And then she was back, and for a moment he was distracted as she told him of the guard looking for him. No, a suspicious man - but still him. Always him. And then he was her focus. Determination and fear - so, so much fear - glared at him as those eyes bored into his. He felt like breaking.

_No child could have those eyes._

A teasing kiss to the forehead - so soft, so wonderful! - and the moment was dashed. Angry and indignant, and a confession. _Seventeen._ She was no child. But he joked, and he fueled her rage. Why? _Don't look at me with those eyes that make me want you._

And life whirlwinded, and he was arguing with a dragon. She knew him. He had saved her before, but…no. Out of his mind. No name, no attachment, no eyes. No Yucie.

And she was the answer. Eternal Tiara? Ask Yucie. Who? Forehead. _No._

Not Forehead. Not the one who looked at him so fiercely. Not the one clawing her way into his heart. _Not Yucie._

And then came insults. Denial and cruelty. _You are such a fool._ The dragon's words, or his own accusations? _Push her away. Pull her close. You fool, you fool, you fool._

And again those eyes, but not like ever before. Anger and pain and hurt and hate. Disappointment. Bitter. And all at him.

"_Oh, see if I care anymore!"_

And then she was running, and he was calling after her. Don't leave. I'm sorry. Don't look at me like that, please. Not me. Not with those eyes.

And she yelled at him to leave. _Don't come after me._ But he had to. He couldn't let her go, and then Cerberus arrived. _Keep her safe._ And he ran, with her in his arms, terrified but determined. The bridge. The order. _Run as fast as you can over to the other side. Don't stop for anything._ What about you? _I'm not so weak you need to worry about me. Go._

Go.

And then he was falling, but she was still there. Fool! Idiot! Why was she still there? Why try to save him? Seventeen, but so small…she'd never hold him! And Cerberus, barely a breath away…

But then he saw them, tear-filled and terrified…at him. _Let go! "I will not!"_ Terror, but not at Cerberus. At him. _I will not._ I will not let go. I will not lose you. I will not let you die.

Sadness and fear to the point of terror. Because he could die. But she hated him, and yet…

Fear at the beast leaping towards them, crashing into the bridge. Disbelief at the free-fall, then nothing as he saw those eyes roll into her head. Terror to the point of nothingness. A blackout.

But he reached for her, grabbed her. Tucked her to his chest and bent his head over her. Trees below, and ground below that. Death at the bottom.

_Please, God, one more chance to see those eyes. Even if she hates me. Let her survive this._

Eyes closed. Weary face with a trace of fear, but…calm.

Like right now.

Calm. No fear, no hate, no hesitance. Blissful calm behind closed lids, trust and love and peace written across her face. Nineteen and queen, and no longer looking like a child. Beautiful in every way.

The first thing he saw was her eyes. The same eyes he woke up to every morning, and the same eyes that watched him as he watched her drift to sleep. The same eyes he dreamt about when he couldn't be conscious to see them for himself.

He brushed back her hair, kissing her neck languorously, with knowing peace and confidence. A smile as a sleepy eye cracked open, and a quizzical gaze as his hand slipped under her nightdress and slowly up her side. Tired and playfully annoyed, her eyes remained a happy kind of molten chocolate as he pulled her closer, kissing his way up her neck to her mouth. A protest for sleep, but a flick of honey showed her willing submission.

He loved every part of her, from the child quivering before the hungry wolf to the forehead coming to catch him as he passed out.

But more than that, more than the deliciously smooth forehead and the girl who loved flowers…

More than all that, he loved her eyes the best.

**A.n.: **_Let's play "Spot the Quote!" Wrote this while watching ep6, so some of the thoughts in here are actual quotes. Can _you_ spot them? ;P_

_I swear, I have the weirdest obsession with listening to sad songs when I write happy stuff, and vice-versa. The whole time I was writing this I had "Your Eyes" ("Your eyes, the ones that took me by surprise, can't get them out of my mind, and I find I can't hide…") and "As Long As You're Mine" ("Maybe I'm brainless, maybe I'm wise, but you've got me seeing through different eyes. Somehow I've fallen under your spell, and somehow I'm feeling it's up that I fell…") stuck in my head. Sheesh. (But I was listening to "My Heart" by K's Choice - which is even worse, 'cause it really is sad.)_

_Also: tried out a new writing trick. I liked it, but I dunno if you guys'll find it hard to follow. Ah well._


	3. The Girl on the Bridge

**Title:** "The Girl on the Bridge"

**Author:** Wish Wielder

**Fandom:** Puchi Puri Yucie

**Claim / Pairing / Character Focus:** Arc/Yucie

**Challenge:** 101 Kisses

**Theme / Prompt:** #48 (Just Waiting)

**Word Count:** 1,327

**Rating:** K / G

**Summary:** Arc and Frederik share a talk about Yucie during the Candidates' concert.

**Notes: **Set during Ep21.

**Disclaimer:** "Puchi Puri Yucie" and all respective properties are © Takami Akai. Meg D. (Wish Wielder) does not, has never, nor will ever own "Puchi Puri Yucie".

"_**The Girl on the Bridge"**_

A smile quirked his lips as he watched the five girls on the stage, his attention mainly focusing on the night-haired girl in the pink dress. She twirled and swayed along with the others, her voice blending in the mix of perfect harmonies. Maybe he was biased, but it seemed to him that she stuck out just a little bit more than the others. Maybe it was because she stood in the center, or maybe it was because of that oversized forehead. Maybe it was because her smile was the brightest, or maybe it really was just because she had him wrapped around her perfect little finger.

He stood behind a tree a short distance from the stage; he could see and hear everything perfectly, though he was practically invisible to the crowds - unless they cared to look. He had seen her looking around before the show, peeking her head around to scan the audience, and he had known - or at least hoped - that she was looking for him. He had thought he had seen her eyes scan the crowd once more when they had walked out and started their song, but he attributed that to wishful thinking more than anything else. Why was he hiding, anyway? It's not like he didn't want her to see him. He was being supportive. Yeah, that was it.

It had absolutely nothing to do with the irrepressible need he had to see her again.

Nope, absolutely nothing at all.

Only a week had passed since the ball, and he had been fighting that need every single one of those seven days. He had found himself pacing his room on more than one occasion, dressed in his traveling clothes and ready to go to her, but he couldn't bring himself to leave. What would he say to her? Something stupid, probably. She was changing so fast, growing into the adult she so desperately wanted to become, and he was just standing beside her at a distance, watching in awe. She was catching up to him, he knew, and that thought made him smile; he wouldn't have to wait much longer.

"_Please, wait for me!"_

She had seemed so desperate that day, though he didn't know why. Did she really think he didn't remember her? Sure, she hadn't believed he was her idolized prince until Frederik had come to drag him home, but that didn't really matter. What had mattered to him was that she had come after him. She had fought against palace guards to keep him from leaving, all so she could ask him to wait for her.

Yes, he had been hoping for something a bit more, but that had been good enough. He had agreed, and though she didn't quite know it yet, that had really been his only option. But while she was asking him to wait so she could thank him for that day so long ago and share with him some feeling about something, he was just waiting for her. She had him under some sort of spell, and he honestly didn't mind.

"You didn't say she was one of them, highness."

He jumped and looked behind him, eyes shooting open as he saw Frederik grinning at him. He breathed a sigh of relief, rolling his eyes and looking back as the girls took their final bow. He opted to ignore his guard, choosing instead to watch her as she waved and laughed with her friends, taking a moment to revel in the cheers of the friends and acquaintances watching. Frederik sighed and walked up beside him, a soft smile twitching his lips as he spotted what - who - he was watching.

"Then again, you never really said who she was at all," the older man said.

"What are you blabbering about now, Frederik?" he asked, annoyed at the distraction. Frederik chuckled at him as he nodded towards her.

"The girl," he said. He turned towards him, eyes narrowed.

"There are five girls," he said, earning an exasperated sigh.

"The one you've been watching so intently this whole time. The one in the pink dress," Frederik said. The man looked back at the girls, the smile returning. "You never said she was a candidate for Platina Princess."

"I didn't know it mattered," he said, looking down. Why was Frederik so interested, anyway?

"To most it wouldn't, but I've known you your whole life, Prince Aero," Frederik said. "I would say you're like a son to me, but that seems too cliché. It matters to me who you marry."

"WHAT?!" he cried, whirling around to face him. He knew his eyes must be wide as saucers, and he was fairly sure his face had grown a good thousand degrees warmer at the statement. Yet Frederik just stood there, grinning at him in that Cheshire way of his.

"You act like you didn't know, Prince," Frederik said. He glared at him, turning back to see her jump on her blue-haired friend as the other two surrounded them, celebrating their success. For a moment, just a brief moment, he allowed his mind to wander enough to wonder what it would feel like if that was him she was hugging just then. "Prince Aero?"

"I never said anything about marrying her," he said stubbornly. Thought? Yes, but never _said_.

"But it's obvious," Frederik said, that grin growing ever so slightly. "Painfully so the night of the ball, when you convinced her to help you sneak out."

"I didn't need her help - I just needed…er…I just asked if she wanted to come along," he said quickly, hoping Frederik wouldn't notice the slip. The chuckle let him know that he had.

"I should have seen it the day we found you, but I'll admit that I was preoccupied at the time," Frederik said. "I was just glad we had finally caught you, but if I had been paying attention I would have noticed."

"Noticed what?" he asked bitterly, his eyes following her as she twirled around a corner of the back stage, laughing as she danced with that purple-haired friend of hers.

"How you looked at her," Frederik said, and his scowl deepened. "She was the girl on the bridge that day, was she not? The one you promised to wait for?"

"She is," he said, acknowledging the point.

"I still don't quite see why she wants you to wait years for her, but I guess this thanks must be important to her," Frederik said, and he glared at him.

"Yucie's seventeen," he said, voice clipped. "It won't take years. She's been cursed to not grow, and when she becomes the Platina Princess she'll be able to fix it."

"You seem quite confident that she'll be chosen," Frederik mused, and he had to surrender the scowl to that smile he had donned earlier.

"I know she will be," he said, "but I'd wait for her even if she wasn't."

"Which is why I know she'll be the one you marry," Frederik said, and he laughed as he realized he had just proven the man's point. He shook his head, grin growing as he placed a hand against the tree.

"Maybe," he said, nodding, "but that's really up to her."

"She's already told you as much," Frederik said, and he quirked a brow at him. Frederik laughed and waved him off, turning to leave. "Don't fault me for overhearing, highness, but as I said: it's as obvious with her as it is with you. She's a fine choice, Prince Aero."

"I know she is, Frederik," he said, and he nodded at the guard as he left him alone. He looked back at her, smiling as he saw her glance up the hill to his tree. He winked at her, blowing her a quick kiss before he turned and dashed past Frederik. 'She's the best choice, and that's exactly why I'll just wait right here until she's ready.'

**A.n.:** _I was actually gonna do something on Arc's opinion about Yucie's cat costume, but it kinda turned into this. xD What can I say? I love Arc and Frederik and the relationship between the two, and I love poking into Arc's head even more. It was bound to happen eventually!_


	4. Now I Lay Me

**Title:** "Now I Lay Me"

**Author:** Wish Wielder

**Fandom:** Puchi Puri Yucie

**Claim / Pairing / Character Focus:** Arc/Yucie

**Challenge:** 101 Kisses

**Theme / Prompt:** #93 (Vanilla)

**Word Count: **841

**Rating:** K / G

**Summary:** It's different for every person, but there are certain things that have to be _just so_ in order for one to fall asleep. King Aero was no different from his vast citizenry in this effect.

**Notes:** Post-series, set after Yucie and Arc have been married for a bit. Just something fun I thought up while brooding over how I couldn't fall asleep without my fan on (I need the noise). xD

**Disclaimer:** "Puchi Puri Yucie" and all respective properties are © Takami Akai. Megan D. (Wish Wielder) does not, has never, nor will ever own "Puchi Puri Yucie".

"_**Now I Lay Me"**_

It doesn't matter who you are: there is a common factor among all people when it comes to sleep. No, it's not that we all need it (thought that is true), and you can't even say that the factor relates to what time we sleep. The factor is in _how_ we sleep.

It's different for every person, but there are certain things that have to be _just so_ in order for one to fall asleep. Some people need to hear a certain noise, and others need absolute silence. Some like to be bundled under stifling amounts of blankets, and still others need no covers at all. Some need total darkness, while others need a small light. One man always needs to lay on his side, while his son cannot sleep on his stomach. Most married people have found that they cannot sleep without their spouse by their side, and some children have found that they cannot sleep without a favorite stuffed toy.

King Aero was no different from his vast citizenry in this effect.

For the most part, he could nap anywhere, but when it came to actual sleep there were certain things that needed to be constant. The lighting didn't matter - he could sleep with the sun right in his room or with the bedcurtains drawn to provide total darkness - and his need for blankets depended mostly on the weather. And before, he had been fine with nothing else in his bed but the pillow behind his head.

Then she came along, and she changed everything.

Yucie hadn't even graced him with the gift of a gradual change. It started on their wedding night, and he had found the very next night - when their seafood dinner had made him ill and he had retired early - that he was unable to rest with just himself and his pillow.

He had brooded, annoyed at the discovery, until she had returned to him some time later. Of course, he had pretended to be asleep, but the moment she had settled next to him he had draped an arm around her stomach and pulled her close.

He didn't know what it was, but he needed her. If she wasn't beside him, tucked securely against him with his arm holding her protectively, he couldn't sleep. Maybe it was the little bit of extra warmth she provided, or maybe it was just the comfort of knowing she was safe and there, with him. Maybe it was just because it was her.

Whatever it was, he knew from that moment on that he would never be able to sleep without her again. There was something comforting about falling asleep to the sound of her gentle breathing and the smell of vanilla that seemed to always be present in her hair.

That was another thing that, on nights when diplomatic duties forced them apart, he found annoyed him. Even when he held onto a pillow, trying desperately to imagine it was her, he found he needed that scent there, as well. She had given him the strangest look the day he asked what she washed her hair with, and he had been absolutely mortified when Frederik had told her why he was asking. ("Frederik! She doesn't need to know that!") But she had just smiled at him, a quaint little blush painting her cheeks as her eyes grew warm, and left the room. When she returned, she tucked a small bottle of blue glass into his hand. No more was said as she went about her duties, and she hadn't mentioned it since then, but he knew she knew he took it with him every time they were apart.

When it came down to it, maybe it was just comforting to know she was there, or to at least have something that reminded him of her. In a way, it made him realize how lucky he was that she had chosen him (sure, she would say it was the other way around, but he knew better). He smiled as he raised the bottle to his nose, breathing in the familiar scent of vanilla that he had come to associate with his queen, before putting it back in the drawer by his bedside.

"What are you doing, Arc?"

He looked up as Yucie came into the room, a fuzzy pink towel held close to her frame. He grinned and walked over to her, stopping before her and pulling her into his arms. He leaned down, kissing her long and slow and deep.

"W-wow…" she whispered, once he had pulled away. She raised a brow at him. "What was that for?"

"Do I need a reason?" he asked, kissing her again. He smiled as the vanilla from her freshly-washed hair attacked him, and he pulled her closer.

Everyone needed something to sleep, and Aero wasn't sure whether his "something" came down to that smell of flower beans or the comfort of holding her, but he did know that, whatever it was, his something was undeniably Yucie.

**A.n.:** _I love Ryan Cabrera. Ryan Cabrera made this plunny so much easier._

_(Er…no, I don't need to look at a picture of Ryan Cabrera to sleep. I mean listening to "It's You" and "Lost Again" made this easier to write. Man you people are freaky.)_


End file.
